Hollywood on the Hillsborough

Although
Oscar night just ended, University of Tampa's student movie-makers did
not take home any gold statuettes, at least not yet.

Instead,
more than 240 Spartans had their own awards competition at the end of
Campus MovieFest, where they vied for the chance to win $10,000 and gain
national exposure.

Campus MovieFest, which bills itself as the
world’s largest student film festival, involves 50,000 students on
college campuses in Atlanta, Boston, Florida, California and Scotland.
Sixty teams of four to seven members registered online for the event at
UT. Each team had a week to create a five-minute masterpiece that could
win iPods, laptops or cash prizes.

“I’m psyched,” said junior
Christian Perkins, who majors in film, said as he picked up his
equipment. “I like directing and cinematography, and now with the new
technology anybody can do it.”

After students dropped off their
finished products, a panel made up of faculty and staff judged the
movies on Feb. 19. They debuted on the big screen Feb. 22 in the Vaughn
courtyard. Hundreds of students filled the lawn, watching their peers'
work, while eating popcorn and cotton candy.

Best picture went to
"Dead End," directed by Daniel Mastronardo. Mastronardo also led the
team that re-created "Rocky," winner of the Turner Classic Movies Award.
The winner of TBS's "Very Funny" Award was "Discover Fresh Breath."

UT's
Best Comedy award went to "Guitars & Caffeine," by Caroline Thomas
and Elizabeth Rheaume. "The Follower" was named UT's best drama. Jacob
Bess and Chris Catanach led the team that created the short.

The
top 16 films to come out of the UT competition will go up against films
from Rollins College, the University of Central Florida and Jacksonville
University in a regional competition. Winners from that pool will go on
to the international competition, where they can win awards like the
TBS “Very Funny” award, which comes with the $10,000 grand prize.

Last
year a movie created by UT students, A Burden’s Ballad, was chosen as
one of the best in the country, according to the official Web site
www.campusmoviefest.com.

“Hopefully it has given students some
pride,” said Brandon Chong, assistant director of Vaughn Center and
Student Event Services. “It builds community and teaches valuable skills
like group dynamics and teamwork. And it introduces students to new
technology.”

After registering for free, students received Apple
laptops with movie-editing software and a hand-held video camera to use
for the week. Representatives from Campus MovieFest were in Vaughn 221
to answer students’ questions.

Junior Chris Favaloro planned on
making a film about a husband and wife torn apart by an affair. His
team’s movie from last year, The Story Between Us, won Best Drama last
year in the UT competition. The management information systems major
does not want to pursue a career in filmmaking, but he said the event
has taught him valuable skills.

“It’s very challenging,
especially in terms of time management,” he said. “And it’s hard to
motivate people when you’re not guaranteed an award.”

The top
movies from UT will appear during the Gasparilla Film Festival the week
of Feb. 28. One winner at the national level will appear on Turner
Classic Movies.